Congestion pricing works to empty your roads. Without alternative transport modes, it will also work to crash the economy. The choice is not between paying $30

Congestion pricing works to empty your roads. Without alternative transport modes, it will also work to crash the economy. The choice is not between paying $3000 a year in congestion charges (to pick a number that would plausibly dissuade) or spending 4 hours a day on a badly-run transit system - the obvious third choice is to move away to a place where commuting is cheaper and faster. This will make labour more scarce and expensive for the local corporates, who will also sooner or later move away to a saner place with cheaper labour. Presto, you've fixed all traffic problems by killing the city.